December 14, 2009

State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced this morning that he is suing a company he alleges scammed thousands of unemployed people with the promise of well-paid government jobs.

The official-sounding “State National Training Service“, a New Jersey company, had contracted with the state of New York to provide study-at-home courses to people who had recently lost their jobs and were looking to pass civil service exams.

Cuomo says that students who enrolled paid $1,000 for a course that they were told would lead to a guaranteed government job with an average annual salary of $60,517. Passing a civil service exam, however, does not guarantee a job.

The students were also told that if they couldn’t afford the program, either the state unemployment office or the Department of Social Services would reimburse them. Cuomo alleges that the people who conducted the seminars told participants falsely that they were government employees.

With his lawsuit, Cuomo will try to bar the company from doing further business in New York.

On its website, State National Training Service says that its courses can be completed online or completed by mail. Positions advertised were for police and correctional officers, firefighters, marshals, protective services, as well as clerical and administrative positions.

When the Voice called the company today, courses were still being offered by admissions officers.

The company has changed its name to Government Career Development, but it’s owned by the same family (principals: Michael Bell, Jr. and Michael Bell, III).

The amount of profit the company made from the scam is not known at this time, and the Attorney General’s office has not returned calls for comment.